LANGLOIS — World War II was looming the day Dick Hildebrand had an accident.

Hildebrand had a thing for hot rods as a young man. He drove his hot rod too fast and crashed. His injuries were bad, and he spent a summer in the hospital. If not for that wreck, he would have gone to war. Instead, Hildebrand went to work.

Like the previous generations of his family who have lived, worked, and died on the hills near Langlois, Hildebrand has spent his life as a rancher.

“I’m so proud of him,” said James Kalina, Hildebrand’s grandson. “He’s very modest about his accomplishments. He supported his wife and three children all by himself. He worked all the time.”